The Strongest Team
by srm628
Summary: Akemi Sato is a S class wizard in Fairy Tail guild. She has a habit of staying in town long enough to get a job and then leaving. When she takes a job that everyone is convinced she can't complete without help. What happens when Akemi joins Fairy Tail's strongest team.
1. Chapter 1

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. Never had I been so happy to be on a train. This last job was exhausting. Who knew finding travelers in a maze could serve to be such a long job?

I was ready to go back home. Fairy Tail. I could picture the old guild hall in my mind. Crazy to think how long I've been away. Almost a year now.

I looked at the bench across of me. The tiny brown haired wizard sat, staring out the window. Yumi. She was one of the travelers I found in the maze.

"You feeling okay?" I asked the girl. I had the weird urge to protect her. She seemed like a child, though in reality, she was only a few years younger than me.

She nodded, not tearing her eyes away from the window.

"Good."

I leaned my head to the window, hoping to get some sleep, but a loud voice jolted me awake.

"Why must you be so foolish?"

I recognized that voice.

"It was a simple mistake."

I knew that voice as well.

"Yeah, Erza, why are you making such a fuss."

I didn't know that voice.

"I'll be right back," I said to my companion before standing to my feet. I followed the sound of the conversation. Their voices carried through the train so it wasn't hard to find them.

"Akemi," Gray noticed me first. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of him. Shirtless and in his boxers. Typical.

"Put your clothes back on. You really don't need to strip to use your magic, you know?"

"Shut up," He groaned, leaning his head back. I wonder how many time he heard about his stripping habit on this job alone.

"Akemi," Erza said, forcing my attention to her. I noticed Natsu knocked out on her lap, no doubt her doing to get him to quiet down. "It's a surprise to see you here. Are you heading back to Fairy Tail as well?"

"Yeah. My job took longer than expected, but I'm finally coming back."

"You have a friend with you?" Erza said.

"What?" I spun around to find Yumi standing behind me. "Oh yeah, this is Yumi."

"Pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Akemi's is a friend of ours." Erza politely held her hand out to shake Yumi's. Yumi hesitantly complied to the jester.

"She doesn't talk much."

It was at that moment I noticed the blonde hair girl sitting next to Gray. I wasn't sure how I missed her when Gray was the first person I noticed.

"Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Akemi." I held out my hand. Erza would kill me if I was rude.

"Hi," The girl grinned, grabbing my hand. "My name's Lucy."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lucy."

Erza invited us to sit down and talk with them for awhile. I squeezed myself in between Lucy and Gray while Yumi sat down on the edge by Natsu's unconscious body.

We talked for a little while, catching up. Apparently, Fairy Tail had quite a few new members. Besides Lucy, we got four other members. Two of which were Dragons Slayers.

"We have three dragon slayers, isn't it exciting?" Lucy asked, grinning.

I laughed, agreeing quietly.

Gray informed me we also lost some members. Laxus got kicked out for trying to overthrow the Master. Loke was actually a celestial spirit, who Lucy now held the key for.

"A lot has happened in a year, hasn't it?" I chuckled awkwardly, scratching my head. It's hard to believe I missed so much.

"You don't know the half of it," Erza said.

I started to question her, but a loud crash caused me to shut up. We looked around to find a group of men standing by the door that led out of the car.

"Quiet down everybody," One of the man said, referring to the murmurs which had started around the car. "Do as we say and nobody gets hurt."

"Yeah, give us all your money and valuables," Another man said.

Erza stood up. "That is quite enough, gentlemen." She requipped into a different armor and pulled out her sword.

"Guess we're fighting," I groaned to Gray and Lucy. I looked towards Happy, the blue cat that had been sitting surprisingly quietly on Lucy's lap. "Watch over Natsu and Yumi for us, would you?"

"Aye sir!" Happy replied, probably content with getting some sort of mission.

The three of us stood up, ready to help Erza. It was obvious she had the guys at the one door taken care of.

Guys came in from the other door, no doubt trying to stop anyone from escaping.

"These people really piss me off!" Gray said annoyed. He clapped his hands together. "Ice make: Sword."

A sword formed out of ice appeared in Gray's hands. Some of the guys tried to turn back through the door.

"Ice make: Vines!" I shouted, slamming my hands to the floor. A vine of ice spurted from the floor and ran to the door, covering the door in vines made of ice, stopping anyone from leaving or entering the car.

"You use maker magic too?" Lucy asked, dumbfounded.

"I thought it was pretty," I admitted, realizing how dumb it sounded. I did in fact train in a magic style simply because I thought it was pretty.

"We can talk later," Gray said. "After we take care of these goons."

"Ice make: eagles."

Eagles made of ice manifested in the sky and flew towards the men who were desperately trying to get through my vines. Gray slashed a few guys with his sword. Lucy didn't really do anything.

"Well, that's done," I said sighing, sitting back down. It didn't take long for authorities to come and take the bandits away.

"The eagles are new," Gray said.

"Oh, yeah," I grinned sheepishly. "I've been learning to do dynamic ice make magic. I think it's cool."

"Isn't that what Lyon used?" Lucy asked, looking to Gray, who nodded. She turned back to me. "Did you study under Gray's teacher too?"

I shook my head. "I wish I had the opportunity to study under Ur, but sadly, I didn't. Just happened to learn the same magic."

Our conversations continued until the train came to a stop. Natsu, finally conscious again, was happy to be off the train. Our group left the station together. I found myself pausing, realizing I was in Magnolia again.

"Hey Akemi, you coming?" Gray asked, turning around. Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Lucy were already ahead of us.

"Yeah, 'course."

I hurried to catch up, checking to ensure Yumi was by my side.

God, was I happy to be home.


	2. Chapter 2

_The guild hall was different._

I literally stopped when it came into view. It was bigger and nicer.

"Why?" I asked, motioning to the guild hall.

"Those Phantom jerks destroyed our guild hall," Natsu grumbled.

"So we built a better one," Lucy added with a grin.

"Nice, isn't it?" Erza questioned.

I didn't have time to answer. They were already walking ahead.

"I don't like change," I murmured anyway, though only Yumi probably heard it.

I walked into the guild hall with Yumi trailing behind me. People greeted us as we walked in.

"Hey Akemi," Someone shouted. "Who's the kid?"

"This is Yumi," I said, speaking in the general direction of the voice. "Where's Master?"

"He's away for a few days," A soft female voice answered. I immediately recognized that as Mirajane.

I walked to the bar and started to talk to Mira. She was always one of my favorite guild mates, even when she was a badass brat. She fought with Erza a lot and it was amusing to watch. Between Natsu's need to fight everyone (especially Gray) and Mira and Erza's fights, the guild was never boring.

"Who's your friend?" Mira asked.

"A wizard. I was hoping she could join the guild."

"Master put me in charge while he is away, so I think we can make that happen."

Mira pulled out the stamp that applied the guild mark. She pressed it to Yumi's left upper arm. After she pulled it away, a purple emblem stayed in its spot.

"Hey, we match," I said with a grin, showing my own left arm. The same purple emblem rested.

Yumi smiled while Mira laughed. "I guess you do."

I spent the next few hours talking to Mira. She told me all about the gossip of the guild. She informed me on the new things the guild had to offer, such as amusement center and a swimming pool. I couldn't help but laugh at the improvements.

"Everyone is allowed on the second floor now, and Master has been letting more people go on S class jobs," Mira explained.

She then told me how Natsu and Lucy went on an S class jobs. Gray was supposed to stop them but joined them instead. Their stupidity changed Master's opinions on S class jobs.

"It's about time," I muttered.

Previously, there were maybe five S class wizards. Gildarts, who was always on a job, Erza, who was kickass, Mira, who hadn't used her power much since the Lisanna incident, Mystogan, who was never around, and me, who was also never around. Laxus used to be one, but he is out of the guild now.

It's crazy to think that Master expected all of those jobs to be done by 5 (or 6) people. Even if a S class needs to tag along, it definitely helps the other members get experience in the harder missions and more of a chance to become S class themselves.

"So how long are you staying this time?" Mira asked, cleaning a glass. I was almost as bad as Gildarts. I came back long enough to get a job then would leave again.

"I want to talk to Master, so at least a couple days."

Mira nodded.

A fight broke out in the guild. Mira and I both watched as our friends brawled. Natsu started it, of course.

Yumi smacked my arm to get my attention. When I looked at her, she motioned to the fighting, as if to ask if we should do something.

"They're always like that," I said, taking a drink of the water Mira had gotten out for me.

"Fun, isn't it?" Mira said with a smile.

"More like annoying," I groaned.

I forgot what it was like in the guild hall. There was no peace and quiet ever. Someone was always screaming. Someone was always fighting.

This was my home though.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days passed. It was the longest that I've spent in the guild in awhile. I got to know some of the newer members.

Juvia was interesting. She was one of the members from Phantom Lord. I was a little weary when Mira told me that, but Mira insisted that she was fitting in well.

"Gray, my beloved," Juvia called, just as entered the guild hall.

I couldn't help but laugh. Gray didn't seem to mind talking to her, but he definitely didn't harbor the same feeling as the Rain Woman.

"Akemi," Mira called me over to the bar. Yumi trailed behind me as I walked over to the bar. "The Master is back. He is upstairs."

"Thanks, Mira!" I ran to the steps, before turning around. For the first time, Yumi actually stayed put. "Come on, Yumi."

Yumi trailed behind me as I ran up the stairs. I found the Master in his office, which I hardly ever went into. He was standing on his desk, rather than his chair, which I found odd, but didn't comment on.

"Akemi! You're back!" He exclaimed, grinning. "Good to see you, kiddo!"

"Yes, Master, I actually wanted to talk to you."

"Yes, of course. What seems to be the problem?" Master's eyes looked past me.

"And who's your friend?"

"This is Yumi. Mira made her an official member of the guild. And that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. She uses interesting magic."

Master looked to Yumi. "Can you show me, child?"

Yumi looked to me, as if asking for permission. I nodded. She sighed and lifted her hands. Yellow screens appeared in front of her.

"Archive." Master nodded. "That's an interesting practice. Not many people use it nowadays. And the fact you can use it without talking is impressive."

The screens faded. She moved her hands more and words appeared in the air.

"Script magic."

"Like Levy uses?" I questioned.

"Preciously, my child," Master said to me before turning back to Yumi. He jumped down from desk and walked over to her. "You are going to fit in well, my child. Stay with Akemi here. She'll keep you safe." He grinned.

"Are you okay with me bringing her on jobs, Master?" I asked.

"Of course, as long as she is okay with living your crazy lifestyle." Master laughed. "How long until you leave again?"

I blushed. "Probably soon."

"You are going to work yourself into an early grave, child. You need to learn to take a break and relax once awhile."

I laughed. "You're one to talk, Master."

Master's cheeks flushed red. "You made a good point. Speaking of relaxing, let's head downstairs and have a drink."

I followed Master Makarov out of his office and back downstairs, where another brawl was happening.

"So much for relaxing," I said with a laugh, making my way to the Request Board. I heard Master yelling at the members, namely Natsu, as I looked for a job.

I searched through both the regular jobs and the S class jobs, trying to find something that caught my eye. Finally I found one. Investigate some disappearances. It seemed like an easy enough job. The reward didn't seem to fit the job. 1,000,000 jewel just for looking into it and an extra 500 for each person found (whether they are alive or dead). It surely didn't seem to fit with the other S class jobs.

"What about this one?" I showed Yumi. She shook her head frantically. "Why not? It doesn't seem that hard and the reward is nice."

She shook her head again.

"What if we ask Mira and see what she can tell us about it?"

Yumi didn't say anything, nor did she give me any sort of response, so I took it as a yes.

"Hey Mira!"

I ran to the bar and showed the flyer to Mira. I asked her for any information she could give me. She told me that the job has been around for awhile. It came in as a regular job over a year ago and got upgraded to a S class job.

"I'm not going to tell you not to go, but I would feel better if you took someone else with you," Mira said in a soft voice.

"I have to agree," Master said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "That's a dangerous job, child. I do not want you taking it on alone."

I looked around the guild. Who would be good to take with me?

Thunder Legion? No way. They got on my nerves.

Team Shadow Gear? I could not handle Droy and Jet fighting over how to help Levy and then not do anything.

Team Natsu?

Erza would be a great help, though I doubt I could ask just Erza. I would have to bring along all of Team Natsu.

I glanced down at the flyer. That was a lot of money, even split six ways.

"Hey Erza!" I called before running over to her. "I hate to ask, but would you do a favor and go on this job with me?"

She took the flyer and looked it over. "Sure. We'll be happy to assist a friend."

"Can I come?" A small voice asked. I turned to see Wendy, the child Sky Dragon Slayer who just recently joined the guild. "Mira suggested I help out with jobs."

I looked to Erza, unsure what to say. Surely the mission couldn't be that hard that bringing Wendy along would be a problem.

"It's fine with me," Erza said. "But I think we should ask the master to ensure he is okay with it."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

Erza and I walked back over to where the master was sitting on the bar. Erza asked about Wendy coming along.

"I think it'll be good experience for her," Mira said with a smile.

"Yes, I agree. Just be careful."

"You're coming along, Wendy!" I shouted, turning back to face the tiny blue haired wizard.

"Yay!" Her eyes lit up. "Thank you so much."

"Coming where?" A voice questioned. I followed the voice with my eyes to find Carla, Wendy's white cat.

"On a job!" Wendy said excitedly.

"No, no. It's much too dangerous, child," Carla stated.

"It'll be okay, Carla. She'll be with Fairy Tail's strongest team," I said with a grin.

I had heard about the destruction Team Natsu has caused. Gray, Natsu, and Erza together, while insanely strong, were also insanely dangerous. The three of them could destroy a mountain.

"I'm coming along," Carla said in a no nonsense sort of way. There was no fighting her.

It was settled. The next day we would be heading out. Neither Erza or I bothered to ask Gray, Natsu, or Lucy. We were convinced they would come.

Fairy Tail's strongest team would be going on another job together. This time including me and Yumi.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, we were on our way.

Natsu and Gray complained about having to be up so early, but none of us were having it. Erza quickly told them to quiet down, which they immediately did.

"Why did you even need us?" Gray asked after we got on the train. Natsu moaned, trying not to puke. "I thought you liked to solo run jobs."

"Usually, yes. But Master and Mira didn't want me doing this job alone, so I asked Erza."

"I'm here because I want to be," Wendy announced with a triumphant grin.

"It is our job to assist our guild mates if they need help," Erza said, crossing her arms.

"What kind of job is it?" Lucy questioned as Gray mumbled under his breath. Happy sat contently on her lap. Carla sat next to Wendy, clearly not happy to be dragged along (even though no one asked her to come).

I told Gray and Lucy about the job. Yumi looked down to the floor as I spoke. She fumbled with her hands on her lap.

"That doesn't seem too hard," Gray grumbled. "Why did Gramps make us come along?"

"Guess a bunch of wizards have gone missing taking the job," I explained, remembering what Mira said.

Gray groaned, leaning back. "It surely can't be that hard."

The conversation changed topics until we got to the correct station. As always, Natsu was happy to get off the train. We gathered our belongings and went into the town. We stopped at the hotel to drop everything off then returned outside to start the job.

I wasn't even sure where to start. Seven wizards and two cats seemed like an awful lot to take on this one mission.

"Why don't we spilt up?" I suggested.

"That's a good idea. Each group should have a S class wizard and a dragon slayer on it," Erza said with a nod. "Natsu, why don't you go with Akemi. Happy, Lucy, you guys too. Gray, Wendy, and Carla can come with me."

"What if we go with Akemi?" Gray suggested. "And Natsu and Lucy go with you."

"Having two ice make wizards on the same team doesn't seem very efficient. It would be better to spilt you up," Erza explained.

"Oh okay." Gray's head fell slightly in disappointment.

With a quick word from Erza, we were off. I suggested we go to the town hall to talk to talk to the mayor. Erza's team would do whatever they could to find information. We would meet at the hotel we were staying at later and figure out a plan from there.

"Natsu, let me do the talking," I said as we entered the town hall. "Last thing we need is a bounty on our head."

Natsu grumbled a response that I took as a yes.

After a bit of help, we found the mayor. He invited us into his office after we told him we were the wizards who agreed to help him.

"I think it's Osamu Kano's doing. The man who lives in the castle. Ever since he moved in, things have been going crazy."

"Can you tell us about this Osamu?" I asked.

The mayor did. He told us that Kano family moved in about seven years ago. He had two kids, though no one ever saw them. The only person they ever saw leave the house was Osamu himself, and even that was rare.

"Disappearances have been happening for seven years?" I asked, clarifying.

The mayor nodded. "Ever since he moved in. There has been no evidence that links him to any crimes, so our hands are tied legally."

"We promise to figure it out for you, sir," I said politely.

We excused ourselves. Lucy suggested going to the library to do some research. Natsu didn't like that idea. Yumi, Lucy, and Happy went to the library while Natsu and I did a little investigating the old fashion way.

Hours later, we all met up at the hotel. We talked about our finds. All signs pointed to Osamu Kano being our kidnapped.

First thing tomorrow morning, we were going to raid the castle.


End file.
